National News

How Dangerous Is Driving Stoned?

(NEWSER) – With marijuana now fully legal in two states and others set to follow, should authorities be cracking down on stoned driving? Experts say doing so could be tough, because standard field sobriety tests aren't very good at detecting tokers, and the outcome depends a lot on how used to being stoned the driver is, the New York Times finds. Researchers note that though driving while high isn't risk-free—THC in the bloodstream is associated with a twofold rise in accident risk—driving drunk is associated with a 20-fold rise in accident risk among young drivers, suggesting that limited resources should be used to focus on drivers under the influence of alcohol.